Investor Profile: Silent Ventures — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Silent Ventures is a Dallas based, early stage venture firm that invests exclusively in defence and deep technology, and it has been doing so since before the sector became fashionable. Founded in 2022 by Jackson Moses, the firm wants to be the first institutional cheque into companies building for American and allied security. Its website reports more than $225 million in assets under management and 17 defence and deep tech unicorns backed, a striking record for a firm this young.

Investment thesis

The firm's thesis can be summed up in its own phrase: atoms, not bits. It argues that the software era has given way to a century defined by builders who produce superior hardware at scale, and that the most capable technologies for free nations will be built by founders, not by legacy primes alone. It invests in substance and physical moats, and it says it only takes calls with teams building what it calls plausible science fiction. Within defence it focuses on hypersonics, kinetics, space platforms, directed energy, propulsion and unmanned systems. In national security software it covers autonomy, artificial intelligence, command and control, electronic warfare and cyber.

Sectors and stages

Silent Ventures only invests as a first cheque at pre-seed, leading early stage rounds with investments of $2 million to $5 million. It then doubles down at seed, either leading or co-leading, and says it can materially follow on from Series A through to pre-IPO with the support of its limited partners. Its current fund size beyond total assets under management is not publicly disclosed in detail. Geographically it is focused on the United States, backing companies across the country from its Dallas base.

Notable portfolio / track record

The companies listed on the firm's own site include Anduril, the autonomous defence systems company; Saronic, which builds uncrewed surface vessels; Hadrian, which is rebuilding precision manufacturing for aerospace and defence; Axiom Space, which builds commercial space stations; and Voyager Technologies, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Its site also names Castelion, Impulse Space, CHAOS Industries, Firehawk Aerospace and Base Power among the companies it counts in its unicorn tally. Founder Jackson Moses previously founded MainStreet, acquired by Employer.com, and Spectrum AI, acquired by ActiveFence after last being valued at $137 million.

How to apply for funding

Founders should note an important distinction. Silent Ventures does not publish a public pitch form for its venture fund on its website, so there is no open application route to complete. The Apply Now route on its site relates to Silent Capital, its private investor syndicate, and is for prospective syndicate members, not for founders seeking a first cheque. Founders therefore need to reach the investment team directly or through a warm introduction from the firm's network, which includes other venture firms, defence primes and family offices.